The Mystique of Meyer

Before I begin writing this I need to issue a disclaimer. As I have mentioned before in previous posts, I was not always a fan of Urban Meyer. In fact I internally begged the Ohio State Athletic Department to hire one of many potential suitors not named Urban Meyer. I went to bed every night for weeks asking the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman and whoever else would listen to grant my wish and keep Urban Meyer away from the football program that I so dearly loved.

Since then, I've done a complete 180 and finally came to my senses. There was no better man for the job and I am happy to call him "my" head football coach. With that said...

"The Mystique of Meyer"

Since first setting foot on Ohio State's campus, has he done anything wrong? Urban F. Meyer was a tremendous influence to the sport of collegiate football for many years before donning the Scarlet and Grey. But I'm writing this to focus on what he has done since November 28th, 2011. And since that day, it is difficult to answer my initial question with any response other than, "Well no, I don't think so!"

Even before his welcoming press conference, UFM was on the phone with potential assistant coaches. He knew that this program needed speed and conditioning so he brought in Mickey Marotti. He knew how important it was to have a national recruiting footprint, so he brought in Tom Herman (Texas) and Everett Withers (Carolinas and Georgia). He knew how paramount it was to the loyal Buckeye fan base to respect the current coaching staff. Therefore he kept Luke Fickell, Stan Drayton, and Mike Vrabel on his staff. His continued knowledge of big-name recruits meant that there was no "learning curve" and he immediately started to bring in big names and flipped quite a few future stars.

And much of this started happening even before he was publicly announced as our coach.

His welcoming speech was elegant. He made sure to mention his love and respect for the state of Ohio and this football program. He mentioned the support from his family. And maybe most importantly he made it very clear that the product that he put on the field would be excellent - something that would "make the great state of Ohio proud."

To this point, he'd done nothing wrong.

Then came the spring game, spring camp, and ESPN Training Days. What an incredible glimpse into the world of Urban Meyer!!! He proved that he pushes his players, connects with his players, and that he is intensely in love with the sport of football. The Training Days special was even compelling enough to turn hard-nosed critics like Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless into UFM fans. He even provided me with my favorite UFM quote (that I now use as part of my 11W signature, below).

Leading up into the fall he started a new tradition called Fan Appreciation Day where, for the first time in my memory, the OSU students had nearly unlimited access to a team that previously seemed restricted to a few moments at Skull Session. UFM created a connection that had never before even been attempted at this university. Plus, he gave us images like this one:

And still, he'd done nothing wrong.

Fast forward to the fall. Ohio State was winning football games in a much different way than the general spectator was accustomed to. This speedy offensive juggernaut was a breath of fresh air. But Meyer kept everything in check with his addresses to the media. He said all the right things, being sure to compliment players on effort and leadership and downplay the hype. His often repeated "Did you push yourself to be the best today?" quote resonated into the minds of every devoted fan. He constantly pushed his players and never settled for anything. He was relentless - always asking his players and coaches if they did their job as well as Alabama did. The mindset was clear to everyone: this program was going to be the best in the country or it would be considered an unsuccessful year.

After the close game at Michigan State a story was unveiled about the pregame toast that brought the team together. Meyer's speech to his players, asking them to "rip open your chests and give your heart to your coaches" sealed the teams unity. At that point everyone had bought into the program, they believed in themselves, and they loved their coach.

The Buckeyes won many close games throughout the season, many of which brought up doubt in the hearts of the Buckeye hopeful. But, just like the players, the fans had started to believe. During every game fans could peer towards the sidelines and find the trademark white windbreaker and feel something that wasn't there in 2011: trust. Buckeye fans trusted that the man on the sidelines calling the shots would steer this team toward victory. Meyer symbolized hope for a team that didn't have an opportunity to play in a bowl game. And still, his inspirational leadership caused 106,000 fans and every player in a uniform to believe that they were champions.

Urban Meyer did nothing wrong.

The Buckeyes went undefeated in 2012, as all of you know. They provided one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory. All along the way, UFM made sure that the fans were engaged with moments like this.

He showed us that there was no doubt that he was as much in love with this University as we were. After beating TTUN the feeling that Buckeye fans had for Urban Meyer can only be described as an infatuation. We fell in love with our football coach. And the light on the horizon shined even brighter.

Urban capped off his first full year by bringing in what some consider the best recruiting class in the country. He flipped players away from many big-name programs. Speeches from many new commitments on signing day proved that these young men felt that they could go to Ohio State and win a National Championship.

Meyer loved his players from 2012, particularly his seniors. He made sure that they were celebrated with a huge memorial in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and "12-0" Leaders Division Champion rings. It showed us that Urban Meyer cared about the success of his team and wanted to remind the players of their successes every time they showed up for practice.

Urban Meyer took the head coaching position with high expectations and respect for the program, school, and state. He hired an incomparable staff, whipped the Buckeyes into shape, and convinced them to trust in the program. Meyer got the students involved with the team, inspired hope in the fans with his passion and poise, and brought a certain "mystique" to this team that wasn't there before. He didn't lose a single game.

So you tell me, has he done anything wrong?

Comments

His idol is Woody Hayes and mentor Earl Bruce. So happy to have UFM as our coach! I had been wishing he would be our coach since his days at Utah. Some how I just knew it might happen when listening to his commentary during an ESPN game where he raved about Braxton. His hiring and presence has taken OSU football to another level for me.

“I have yet to be in a game where luck was involved. Well-prepared players make plays. I have yet to be in a game where the most prepared team didn't win.” -Urban Meyer-

Well done. We are lucky to get coach Meyer as he enters his peak performance years. I realize that he's already an elite coach and has won 2 nattys - a hell of a career for any CFB head coach. However, he continues to refine his approach, learn from his past experiences, and make improvements. He'd also be a great CEO anywhere in corporate America...........

Phenomenal motivator and leader of men. He emphasizes parts of the game that make the difference between good teams and legendary teams. With the Ohio State brand behind him now, there is no telling what he can accomplish. As a Buckeye fan, that limitless ceiling really gets me hyped!

"It takes a little something special to be a great player. What you got in you, we're going to find out. And if there's a touch of greatness in there, how cool would that be?"

Much like another great, yet not as well rounded, football coach began his tenure at Ohio State by all but promising a win against Michigan no matter how the season went and then delivering, Urban has done nothing but deliver on his promises, 12 years later, heading into his second season.
Sometimes his mystique is too great, and it's like some powerful, nameless entity has control of this team. Sometimes I forget that Tresselball is truly a thing of the past, then I realize that UFM is the head coach at OSU.
Heres to Urban becoming the second OSU coach in a row to win a BCS title in his second season behind the reigns.

Thanks for the kudos friend. I think my epiphany came just after I was able to swallow my pride and face reality. There hasn't been such a high profile coach with his record on the market in many moons. The timing was perfect for Ohio State. It was like Woody was smiling from above, sending down a little blessing for the Scarlet and Grey.

"It takes a little something special to be a great player. What you got in you, we're going to find out. And if there's a touch of greatness in there, how cool would that be?"

It was not a great sell job to get Urban to come to Ohio State, it was a stroke of luck. Sometimes good things come from terrible mistakes. One month after Urban retired for good from Florida, he told his wife Shelly he made a mistake. He already missed coaching. Shelly Meyer says the day it was announced that Jim Tressel was resigning she knew they were moving to Columbus. She said this before a phone call was made by Ohio State. She knew Ohio State would call and she knew Urban would say yes. They had obviously had conversations. Shelly said Urban didn't think it was possible that he would ever be lucky enough to get a chance to come home, a chance at his dream job, Ohio State. Jim Tressel was entrenched and highly respected. I loved having Jim Tressel as the head coach at Ohio State, but there is absolutely no comparison between the great coach Ohio State had and the incomparable coach they now have.

At Florida we were on the outside looking in at Meyer, now we are on the inside (somewhat) and are finding out what this man is really about; as a coach and as a person. I am proud he is coaching the Bucks.
That vid of him pointing at the camera, jumping up and down, captures the essential Urban Meyer best.

This is a great point. I now feel like much of my animosity towards Meyer and the Florida program was out of jealousy and spite. You hate your most powerful enemy until he brings his guns over to your team.

"It takes a little something special to be a great player. What you got in you, we're going to find out. And if there's a touch of greatness in there, how cool would that be?"

I'm glad he is here. He isn't what I was used to. Yet he proved he can coach our team to 12-0. I hope he goes 14-0 this year. If he doesn't this year I think he will in the next 3 yrs. I hope I'm not being to hard on him. Winning the big ten and a rose bowl would be a great season for any other team but TOSU. Am I the only one who feels this way? Are my sights to high? I bet SCum would be happy as ever to see a rosé bowl. I know that a crap ton of pressure is on UFM. I just hope not two much.